Susie Ellis - Medika Life

The Medika Life Top 30 Voices Transforming Wellness for 2022/23

Medika Life — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 11:29:47 +0000

Wellness encompasses body and spirit – experience and lifestyle – and the benefits of investing in self-care are well documented. Yet much of the global health economy focuses on sick care in the guise of health care. While wellness is desired – the possibility of health and what it contributes to – happiness and prosperity – much of our resources and intellectual talents are still directed to managing sickness.

The most notable health discoveries center around therapies and technologies that enable the health system to better address rare diseases, non-communicable diseases, chronic conditions and public health urgencies that demand attention. Yet, many – not all – of these conditions and situations might be prevented through preventive healthcare delivery and wellness strategies.

Longevity – healthy years – has long been a quest since Ponce De Leon searched out the healing waters that might magically maintain a youthful appearance. We are fascinated with the possibilities of longevity and the well-being of mind, body and spirit. Is this only a fantasy? Today’s research and science suggest otherwise. Like all great things; it takes work – personal investment in diet, exercise, mindfulness and preventive care. Why focus only on sick care. This is why Medika Life highlights 30 outstanding individuals whose efforts are transforming how we approach health and wellness.

Ambassadors of a Wellness Movement

All selected for the 2022/2023 Top 30 Influencers Transforming Health and Wellness roster have demonstrated commitment to improving people’s well-being and advancing the global wellness movement. This list recognizes and celebrates their achievements and encourages their journey! All of them originate and share bold ideas, engaging the diverse sphere of wellness in productive – sometimes controversial – conversation.

Those selected are pioneers and explorers who advance the sectors of beauty, diet, food, fitness, mental and medical health, relaxation and travel. Wellness isn’t only a “nice thing to do.” Done persistently, it has multiple levels of ROI. The Global Wellness Institute estimates that as we emerge from the pandemic, the wellness economy will reach nearly $7.0 trillion in 2025. Global Wellness Institute estimates that as we emerge from the pandemic, the wellness economy will reach almost $7.0 trillion in 2025. Wellness isn’t only a “nice thing to do.” Done persistently, it has multiple levels of ROI.

Photo Credit: Global Wellness Institute

Wellness is often debunked as too “touchy-feely” and lacking scientific substance. We counter by asking whether sickness is a wiser financial investment – letting the downslide of health take its course. According to the Global Wellness Institute, there is an estimated ROI of $4-$14 for every $1 in public health, prevention, managing non-communicable diseases, and health promotion. At a time when the United States dedicates almost 20 percent of its GDP toward “health,” it is questionable whether that is sustainable. We may need to invest more time, money and policy development in nutritional education, women’s health, overcoming mental health stigma and encouraging a better balance between work and downtime. These 30 Wellness Influencers have the courage and entrepreneurial savvy to raise their voices and open their bank accounts to keep people on track to living longer and healthier.

The Challenge to Select Only 30 Influencers

Wellness and our life choices are complex. America is not a frontrunner in the wellness field – but the interest is strong. There is a science to wellness; however, the byproduct of its efforts aren’t quick fixes. Technology has a place in the wellness movement, yet the simple pleasure of community and conversation are also healing. To arrive at 30 individuals of influence was a process that took months! Those selected are ambassadors for a movement that includes hundreds, thousands, and, we hope, millions of advocates. Medika Life is privileged to champion these pioneering voices.

Analytics and Research

To compile this roster, Medika Life used analytical tools to review data from varied sources – from search to these individuals’ social impact and reach. We examined their readiness and effectiveness in engaging others and supporting wellness through presentations, podcasts, webinars, written content, and willingness to share insights in public forum. We include names that appeared in previous Medika Life lists when nominees focused on wellness policy, communications and outreach. However, priority has been given to highlighting influencers who have not appeared on our previous lists.

We considered geography. We wanted to ensure that voices from around the globe are included. We looked to ensure diversity and equity. We focused on people with the courage to share their ideas through research, investment, art, music, and literature (backed by science) that inspire wellness, launched new companies and NGOs and advocated for beleaguered industries during the pandemic, such as the leisure and travel sectors.

Appreciation

As always, thanks to my friend and Medika Life Founding Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Robert Turner, for assisting me in preparing this roster of exceptional contributors to the wellness conversation. Also, appreciation to Medika Life authors and colleagues Cullen Burnell and Jordan Forbes for their support. Special thanks to the colleagues from professional circles who shared their thoughts and contributed their nominations, particularly those from the Global Wellness Summit community, which serves as a home to many wellness advocates.

Please also look at the Medika Life 2022 2021 Most Influential Voices in Healthcare and Women Transforming Healthcare lists. People who appear on those lists are incredible voices in health transformation. Many need no introduction, and others will be on your radar screen. All these individuals have an impact and are important to watch, follow, amplify and engage. Follow them all and chart their influence.

Gil Bashe, Editor-in-Chief, Medika Life

Top 30 Wellness Influencers Downloadable Banner

All influencers on the 2022/23 Top 30 Wellness Influencers list have a personalized banner that can be downloaded via the “clicking here” link below. We provide these individualized banners to acknowledge and thank them for their efforts toward improving patient experience and healthcare outcomes. Instructions on how to add the banner are shown on the page.

Influencers listed below can download their banners by clicking here. This is one example – there are 30 banners available – for each person – via the unique link.

Medika Life Top 30 Wellness Influencers – Sample Downloadable Banner – Each of the 30 Listed Have a Personalized Banner for Downloading for Social Media Shares on Twitter, LinkedIn and other platforms.

Top 30 Wellness Influencers

Here is our Medika Life roster of 30 people to follow – not ranked, presented in alphabetical order, all-important voices – to have on your radar screen for future years. Follow their content and voices – these are amazing advocates for patient care and health innovation:

Esther Ejiroghene Ajari, MBBS

Founder & Executive Director, TriHealthon Development Network in Nigeria

Esther Ejiroghene Ajari is the founder and head of TriHealthon, an award-winning non-governmental organization advancing health and wellness equity in Africa through research and community development projects. Dr. Ajari received the United Nations Development Programme King Hamad Youth Empowerment Award for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals in 2020 and was named a COVID-19 Hero by the Nigerian Vice Presidency in 2021. Dr. Ajari studied medicine and surgery at the University of Ibadan and was a Dalai Lama fellow at the University of Virginia.

Belgin Aksoy

Creative Director, Richmond International; Founder Global Wellness Day

Wellness is a global movement, and Aksoy raised its banner by creating Global Wellness Day. In 2016, the Global Wellness Summit honored Aksoy and presented her with the “Leading Woman in Wellness” Award. That same year, Aksoy received the “Most Influential Spa Leader” Award from American Spa. Aksoy owns Richmond Nua Wellness-Spa, the award-winning wellness spa brand in Turkey. Her commitment to wellness and the community is well demonstrated.

Federica Alberti

Director, Wellness Foundation, Italy

Alberti is on a mission to spread the culture of wellness as a social opportunity and a compelling invitation for a healthier, sustainable world. Comfortable in entrepreneurial or corporate settings, she has been head of corporate affairs for a leading health company, European think tank, IBM and Deutsche Telekom.

Amir Alroy

Co-Founder, Welltech Ventures, Israel

Put your money where it matters! Alroy is a global investment pioneer and co-founder of Welltech Ventures and has stepped forward to help advance the global wellness movement. In 2022, he co-chaired the Global Wellness Summit in Tel Aviv, which once again drew a record worldwide crowd. After serving as founder, CEO, and chair of Cloud 9 Wellness Clubs, a pioneering professional personal training club, he took his success into technologies that span AI, mental health management, tracking movement, body structure, and more digital health advances that bring consumers closer to addressing their health needs.

Mary Bemis

Founder and Editorial Director, Insider’s Guide to Spas

Bemis is a pioneering journalist who began to cover the spa movement at its earlier moments and helped define a global industry sector. Wellness means many things to many people – for some it’s the break from the day-to-day and focus on the mind/body experience. The spa industry is significant. In 2020, the global spa market size was valued at USD 47.5 billion and is expected to reach USD 52.9 billion by 2028. Bemis is certain to keep tabs on its ups, downs and innovations. She is an initial inaugural honoree of Folio’s “Top Women in Media Award” and a champion of the healing potential of the spa environment.

Robin Berzin, MD

Founder of Parsley Health

Dr. Robin Berzin, a Columbia Medical School graduate and trained in Internal Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. She has been recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Tech Pioneer, named as one of the 100 most innovative women in business by Inc. Magazine, and praised by Fast Company for founding one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies.

Dr. Berzin is the Founder and CEO of Parsley Health, a leading holistic medical practice designed to help people overcome chronic conditions. She founded Parsley to address the rising tide of chronic disease in America through personalized holistic medicine that puts food, lifestyle, and proactive diagnostic testing on the prescription pad next to medications. Since founding Parsley in 2016, Dr. Berzin reports seeing 80% of her patients improve within their first year of care. She is an author and champion of the value of making modern holistic medicine accessible.

Dan Buettner

Founder of Blue Zones

Image a place where people live into their 100s. Now imagine finding out that traditional medicine isn’t keeping these people alive longer – something is happening that makes each community a modern-day Shangri–La. Dan Buettner is an explorer, National Geographic Fellow, award-winning journalist and producer and New York Times bestselling author. Dan has discovered five places in the world – dubbed “Blue Zone Hotspots” – where people live the longest, healthiest lives. Dan now works in partnership with municipal governments, corporations and health payers to implement Blue Zone Projects, applying lessons from the communities he has studied.

Richard Carmona, MD

Chief Innovations Officer, Canyon Ranch and Former US Surgeon General

Solider, scientist and public health advocate, Richard Carmona, MD, was the 17th US Surgeon General, and author of a landmark study on the health effects of secondhand smoke. He is also a decorated US Army Special Forces veteran and a distinguished professor with a wide range of experience in health policy and management. Looking to the future of health and wellness, he is now chief of health innovations at Canyon Ranch. He serves as a director on several publicly traded corporate boards and private companies.

Lori Cashman, MBA

General Partner, Victress Capital

Lori Cashman, co-founder and General Partner of Victress Capital, is recognized as the firm’s visionary and master multi-tasker. In an investment world where “relevance is everything” and customers are looking to have expectations met, Cashman loves thinking about how a company’s differentiated value proposition can be leveraged to drive innovation. Cashman is an early stage investor and champion of gender diverse teams in the consumer space with a special focus on wellness. She has placed bets on companies such as Daily Harvest, Rae Wellness and Alyce. Cashman sits on the board of directors for Rae Wellness and Droplette and is a Board Observer for Standard Dose.

Nancy Davis

Chief Creative Officer and Executive Director, Global Wellness Summit

Nancy Davis is the extraordinary creative mind behind the Global Wellness Summit (GWS) and a champion for each of its community members. If the Summit has become a must-attend for people in the wellness field, Davis is among those who deserve the credit. She has decades of experience in strategic communications for Fortune 100 companies. Since teaming up with GWS Founder Susie Ellis in 2013, Davis has helped the organization expand its global footprint through activities, events and research that have elevated the importance of the GWS and Global Wellness Institute – and the voice of the wellness community. Details matter and Davis focuses on the significant issues and the little things that build a brand.

Ken Dychtwald, PhD

Founder and CEO, Age Wave

Since 1986, Dr. Dychtwald has been the Founder and CEO of Age Wave, an acclaimed think tank and consultancy focused on the social and business implications and opportunities of global aging and rising longevity. His client list has included more than half the Fortune 500. He has served as a fellow of the World Economic Forum and was a featured speaker at two White House Conferences on Aging. Dr. Dychtwald has emerged as North America’s foremost visionary and original thinker regarding the lifestyle, marketing, health care, economic and workforce implications of the age wave. He is a psychologist, gerontologist, and best-selling author of 19 books on aging-related issues. Before longevity was a popular topic, Dr. Dychtwald was in the vanguard of elevating its importance.

Susie Ellis, MBA

Chair & CEO, Global Wellness Summit and Global Wellness Institute

Before “wellness” and preventive care became buzzwords and a movement that academic, government and industry sectors would eagerly rally toward, the idea had a champion and global ambassador – Susie Ellis! Today, Ellis is chairman and CEO of the Global Wellness Institute, a leading non-profit research and educational resource for the worldwide wellness industry, and guides the Global Wellness Summit, an international organization representing business executives and leaders on the best practices in addressing health needs – spiritual, emotional and physical.

Ellis also hosts the annual Global Wellness Summit, which draws top-level thinkers and business leaders worldwide. She is recognized among the top authorities in the worldwide wellness industry; she is a prominent writer and speaker and is frequently quoted in news outlets such as The Wall Street Journal and New York Times. Ellis holds an MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles, and is the recipient of the International Spa Association “Visionary Award.”

Susan Fanning, MBA

Chief Health & Wellbeing Officer at Prudential Life Assurance Public
Company Ltd. (Thailand)

Originally from Ireland, Susan Fanning has 20 years of experience in commercial strategic leadership in Healthcare and Financial Services in Europe, Asia and Africa. She joined Prudential Thailand as Chief Health & Wellbeing Officer in August 2020 to drive its Pulse health proposition and build out the Enterprise-wide Health and Protection capabilities. Fanning is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries and has an MBA from INSEAD.

Before joining Prudential Thailand, Susan led a startup company in the digital health ecosystem space and worked for Aon and BUPA. When she does find some downtime, it’s to dedicate her energies to helping others. During her two sabbaticals, Fanning focused on assisting NGOs to deliver better patient outcomes and elevate the understanding of business in helping people live lives where wellness was a priority.

Catherine Feliciano-Chon

Founder and Managing Director, CatchOn- A FINN Partners Company

When it comes to understanding the wellness sector in Asia, Cathy Chon is the go-to person. She is widely known and a sought-after speaker for her understanding of the Asian hospitality, travel, food, design and wellness industries. Based in Hong Kong and founder of CatchOn, Chon is a welcome presence in the global wellness sphere, often stepping onto the main stage to share data from breaking studies that guide sector investment in marketing communications. Her use of data to demonstrate the sector’s viability makes her a key voice on the economic importance and vitality of wellness as an industry worthy of attention.

Chon takes her commitment to wellness seriously, has co-chaired the Global Wellness Summit gathering in Singapore, and sits on the Summit advisory board. When wellness was a niche industry, Chon was at its forefront, and 30 years of experience in brand development have given her an edge in what is happening next.

Michael Hunter, MD

Radiology Oncologist and Author, Evergreen Medical Center

One word comes to mind when reflecting on Dr. Michael Hunter – exceptional! Dr. Michael Hunter moved from the East to West Coast to pursue his professional dreams as a sought-after radiology oncologist. He received degrees from Harvard, Yale University, and the University of Pennsylvania and is affiliated with Evergreen Health Medical Center – Kirkland, WA. Dr. Hunter is a prolific author who produces a wealth of written content on Medika Life and its sister digital platform on Medium called Being Well. A physician and educator, Dr. Hunter seeks to improve the health and well-being of people with whom he engages and follow his columns. He is a physician-ambassador for wellness! Dr. Hunter is committed to providing information through blogging, apps, books for laypersons, podcasts, and more.

Barbara Kolm, PhD

Director, Austrian Economics Center (BIO)

Dr. Kolm holds multiple positions of influence as vice president of the Austrian Central Bank, director of the Austrian Economics Center, and a professor of Austrian Economics at the University of Donja Montenegro. She also serves on the supervisory board of the Vienna Insurance Group and the Vienna University of Economics and Business. Dr. Kolm is Vice-Chair of the United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Focus Group on Environmental Efficiency for Artificial Intelligence and other Emerging Technologies and Chair of the Thematic Group on the United for Smart Sustainable City Index. The health of people and the planet are interconnected, and Dr. Kolm uses her influence to advocate for both.

John Macomber

Senior Lecturer and Author, Harvard Business School

John Macomber is a Senior Lecturer in the Finance unit at Harvard Business School (HBS). He is the author of dozens of HBS case studies on infrastructure projects, focusing on office buildings in the United States, housing in India, water management in Mexico, and private sector–led new cities in Asia. At HBS, Macomber focuses on climate adaptation and the future of cities, aided by private-sector finance and the delivery of public infrastructure projects in developed and emerging worlds.

Macomber’s teaching combines infrastructure finance (e.g., public-private partnerships), investing in resilience (notably in the face of sea rise in some areas and drought in others), economic development, and the impact of new technologies in delivering new infrastructure and making old infrastructure efficient. His recent book – called a must-read for anyone engaged in wellness infrastructure, is Healthy Buildings: How Indoor Spaces Drive Performance and Productivity (Harvard University Press, 2020)

Ann Mond Johnson, MBA

CEO, American Telemedicine Association

Telehealth is the pathway to making wellness and health accessible and immediate. It holds the potential to engage consumers in their self-care. Ann Mond Johnson, CEO of the American Telemedicine Association (ATA), is at the center of this conversation. ATA is a nonprofit association with more than 10,000 industry and health leaders. Johnson began her career applying healthcare data and information to improve people’s well-being and then moved on to champion Chicago as an inviting hub for health-tech firms. She understands the nexus of policy and performance – where voices of influence can ensure access to preventive care. Her leadership also extends to non-profit service organizations, including serving on several key boards, including Pathfinder International, a non-profit organization committed to country-led solutions to achieve universal sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Freddie Moross

Managing Director, myndstream

Freddie Moross is responsible for developing the market strategies for the United Kingdom and United States divisions of Cutting Edge Group, a leading music media company. Moross is focused on increasing awareness for the its wellness brand myndstream. Music has a special power and Moross is creating an inclusive wellness community that harnesses the power of music to improve mental well-being and the lives of children with learning and developmental disabilities. Moross takes special effort to apply his company’s possibilities by supporting health and educational professionals with tools for children’s mental wellness.

Dean Ornish, MD

Founder and President, Preventive Medicine Research Institute

Dr. Dean Ornish is the founder and president of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, Calif. He is a clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. For more than 32 years, Dr. Ornish has pursued research demonstrating that comprehensive lifestyle changes may reverse even severe heart disease, without drugs or surgery.

He is the author of six best-selling books, including New York Times bestsellers Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease; Eat More, Weigh Less; Love & Survival; and his most recent book, The Spectrum. Dr. Ornis received his medical training in internal medicine from the Baylor College of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and the Massachusetts General Hospital.

Lygeia Ricciardi

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, AdaRose

Lygeia Ricciardi is the founder of AdaRose, an online community that supports women in achieving better health and healthcare by leveraging human connections and digital tools. She is in the vanguard of patient and consumer engagement as an entrepreneur, consultant, and in the US Federal government, where she founded and led the Office of Consumer eHealth, from which she helped shape national policies and programs that give millions of Americans access to and use their health information digitally. She is an Advisor and former Chief Transformation Officer at Carium, a telehealth company that connects patients and providers within the fabric of daily life. Ricciardi is courageous and ready to take entrepreneurial risks to prove her point that consumers need to engage in self-care.

Rebecca Robbins, PhD

Sleep Scientist and Instructor, Harvard Medical School and Associate Scientist, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Sleep is among nature’s most potent restorative therapies. Dr. Rebecca Robbins is a pioneer in sleep research as an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School and an Associate Scientist at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Her research uses novel communication tools and technologies such as smartphones and other mobile devices to design persuasive behavior change interventions to improve sleep and circadian health. Her research has appeared in peer-reviewed publications such as JAMA Network Open, Plos ONE, Sleep Health, Prevention Science, Health Communication, Preventing Chronic Disease, and the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. Dr. Robbins is the co-author of Sleep for Success!

Michael Roizen, MD

Physician and Founding Chair, Wellness Institute, Cleveland Clinic

Dr. Michael Roizen is the pioneer behind the “RealAge” concept to motivate behavior change. Dr, Roizen served as the Cleveland Clinic’s first Chief Wellness Officer from 2007 to 2019 and the founding Chair of its Wellness Institute. He is the recipient of an Emmy, Elle, and the Paul Rogers Best Communicator Award from the National Library of Medicine. He is also the recipient of The United Way of Cleveland Humanitarian of the Year Award. Perhaps his greatest achievement is his advocacy for making people recognize that getting older doesn’t mean people have to become ill. He is a champion for pursuing longevity with wellness. If you’re looking forward to your 100th birthday, thank Dr. Roizen for laying the groundwork.

Katherine Saunders, MD

Executive Vice President, Intellihealth and Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine

Obesity cuts life short. It is a domino illness that impacts many other conditions – including heart, diabetes and mental health. Among the few global specialty-trained physicians prepared to engage is Dr. Katherine H. Saunders. Dr. Saunders is a DABOM Co-Founder, Executive Vice President, Intellihealth, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, a physician entrepreneur, and a leading expert in Obesity Medicine. She is on the cutting edge of effective and compassionate obesity treatment. Dr. Saunders is among the featured Medika Life authors.

Dr. Saunders received her undergraduate degree Phi Beta Kappa/Summa Cum Laude from Dartmouth College and her medical degree from Weill Cornell Medical College. She was the first clinical fellow in Obesity Medicine at the Comprehensive Weight Control Center at Weill Cornell Medicine. She is a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Obesity Medicine. She frequently speaks at national conferences, hosts the Weight Matters podcast, and publishes extensively on Obesity Medicine and weight management.

Louis Schwartzberg

Filmmaker and Documentarian

Louie Schwartzberg is an award-winning cinematographer, director and producer who has spent his notable career providing breathtaking imagery using his time-lapse, high-speed and macro cinematography techniques. Schwartzberg is a visual artist who breaks barriers, connects with audiences, and tells stories celebrating life and revealing the mysteries and wisdom of nature, people, and places.

Schwartzberg is the only artist inducted into the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Lemelson Foundation’s Invention Ambassadors Program. He has received the Debra Simon Award for Leadership in Mental Wellness from Global Wellness Summit. He was Oprah Winfrey’s guest on Super Soul Sunday, and his “Gratitude Revealed” film premiered on the OWN online platform.

Suzanne Steinbaum, MD

President and CEO, HeartTech.Health

Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum is a cardiologist, published author, and women’s wellness advocate. She is the founder and CEO of HeartTech.Health – a groundbreaking program for women’s holistic health prevention and author of Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum’s Heart Book: Every Woman’s Guide to a Heart Healthy Life. Dr. Steinbaum has been a national spokesperson for Go Red through the American Heart Association for 18 years, serves on the national medical advisory board for Peloton, and is a frequent guest on national television shows such as The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Doctors, and more.

Rick Stollmeyer

Founder, Mindbody, CEO Inspired Flight Technologies, Podcaster

Former US Navy officer Rick Stollmeyer launched MindBody and continues to serve as its visionary, ensuring that everything the organization embraces serves its mission – leveraging technology to improve the world’s wellness. He is also the organizer of The MindBody Annual Wellness and Beauty Conference, BOLD, features speakers such as former First Lady Michelle Obama, Billie Jean King, Arianna Huffington, Magic Johnson and Deepak Chopra.

Stollmeyer helped transform MindBody from a homebased operation with 12 clients to a full-fledged software development company serving more than 500,000 beauty, health, and wellness practitioners at 53,000 businesses in more than 130 countries. In December 2018, MindBody was acquired by Vista Equity Partners for $1.9 billion. Stollmeyer is now an investor and global voice for wellness.

John Whyte, MD, MPH

Chief Medical Officer, Medscape and WebMD

John Whyte, MD, MPH, is a knowledgeable physician and writer who has an exceptional ability to communicate with consumers and colleagues alike about health issues. For nearly two decades, he has been in the forefront speaking to pressing public health and wellness topics that people need to engage. Dr. Whyte is able to make the complex and problematic easier to navigate and engage. His magic with audiences makes Dr. Whyte a frequent visitor on network television station programs – including the always popular Dr. Phil.

He is also the author of several bestselling books for consumers on lowering risks for non-communicable illnesses such as cancer and diabetes. Before WebMD, Whyte served as the director of professional affairs and stakeholder engagement at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Whyte is a board-certified internist with a Master of Public Health in health policy and management from Harvard University School of Public Health. Comfortable in the Beltway or Boardroom, he is among the nation’s great ambassadors for health and wellness.

Olajide A. Williams, MD, MS

Professor of Neurology and Founder of Hip Hop Public Health

What would happen if more creative attention were given to wellness messages and how they impact consumer response? Enter Dr. Williams, a world-renowned leader in stroke disparities and community-based behavioral intervention research to reach people and prevent illness through the power of music. Dr. Williams is the founder and chair of Hip Hop Public Health and works with iconic Hip Hop influencers to use art, music, and science to promote healthy behaviors, health literacy, and health equity.

Dr. Williams knows from his upbringing in Nigeria that many illnesses are preventable, but if the message falls flat, people tune out. Along with his work in global public health, he is a Professor and Chief of Staff of the Department of Neurology at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and an attending physician at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. When the next global public health crisis hits, we hope Dr. Williams is invited to the table – sickness is not an option.

Mary Yarbrough, MD, MPH

Executive Director VUMC, Health and Wellness Program

As we have seen during the worst of the COVID era, frontline health heroes also need attention to their wellness! Dr. Mary Yarbrough is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Executive Director of Vanderbilt’s Faculty/Staff Health and Wellness Programs, which includes the Occupational Health Clinic; Work/Life Connections–EAP, including the Faculty/Physician Wellness and Nurse Wellness Programs.

Previously she served as a Luce Scholar in Sabah Malaysia, as a consultant to the World Health Organization, and as Director of Environmental Epidemiology for the Tennessee Department of Health. Dr. Yarbrough earned her MD from Vanderbilt and MPH from Johns Hopkins. For the professionals addressing pressing medical needs, we must remember the physical and mental health toll this burden places on their shoulders. Dr. Yarbrough is among the nation’s top experts.

Thirty Inspiring Wellness-Sector Role Models

We hope you find these 30 Influencers of Wellness inspiring role models. Seeing the possibilities of extended health over many years is a better way to live. Still, we must continue to direct our eyes toward societal injustices that impede the ultimate goal of a health ecosystem that addresses physical and emotional needs. These wellness leaders champion a life filled with adventure, tasty food, and companionship must also join other health influencers who question the status quo of discrimination, disparities and disruption.

Let’s do our part to ensure these incredible people are heard and supported. Follow and engage with these outstanding advocates of a world filled with wellness. Also, follow people they follow – those people are future candidates for the Medika Top 30 and 50 lists. Again, with a list of 30 people, it’s impossible to include everyone we considered – there were many, and we look forward to featuring their efforts. That is why we urge everyone to visit past lists and engage.

This Spring, Medika Life hopes to release its 30 Voices in Digital Health Health List for 2023, featuring fearless life science innovators seeking to advance access to care, champion new therapies and accelerate diagnosis and alternative treatment approaches. Stay tuned! Follow Medika on Twitter and LinkedIn and follow our editorial staff for updates.

Spot a broken link, typo, forgotten degree or name misspelled?

Oops! Apologies! While care has been taken in compiling this list and adding social media links, things go wrong, or a name is misspelled or a link broken. We seek to honor those listed! Please do get in touch to address typos, amendments, or omissions by reaching gil.bashe@medika.life.

Thanks in advance and be healthy!

The post The Medika Life Top 30 Voices Transforming Wellness for 2022/23 appeared first on Medika Life.

Global Wellness Summit Charts $4.4 Trillion Sector Impacting Longevity

Gil Bashe, Medika Life Editor — Sun, 06 Nov 2022 19:14:04 +0000

Hundreds of the world leaders of the wellness economy have just concluded a four-day Summit in Tel Aviv, Israel. Longevity-setting healthy foods, rejuvenating spas, mind-balancing meditation, travel, and yoga still are front-and-center. But they now share the economic stage with evolving big-sector priorities that include sustainable foods, environmental health, mental health, employee fitness, weight management and technology. The two approaches – body and finance – are not in conflict. Longevity and health – of body and planet – call upon life-sustaining, harmonious behavioral change.

The Global Wellness Summit kicked off with a concept that is too often overlooked, thanks to the hectic pace of our lives and the drive to survive and succeed – gratitude. Renowned filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg, whose films celebrate life and the human spirit, shared his newest work, Gratitude Revealed.

During the pandemic, Schwartzberg, the child of Jewish Holocaust Survivors, observed how severely disrupted our rhythm of life became under the COVID cloud. Things taken for granted – meeting a friend, brainstorming with colleagues, browsing a store – were suddenly replaced by isolation. Through the solitude of then-required quarantine, we also saw the ugliness in the world – climate change, racial discrimination, disregard for the needy, and young people suffering mental health strife and worse. We recognized that we needed to engage in creating sustainable existence.

Schwartzberg wanted to inspire during this difficult and unpredictable time. He wanted to help people in desperate need of connection by infusing within us a vision of how great life can be. His response was Gratitude Revealed. His words and film set the tone for this gathering – wellness means many things to many people. It should not be taken for granted.

Wellness is Now Big Business

The Global Wellness Summit and its corresponding research institute track the now $4.4 trillion global wellness economy that includes 11 sectors:

Personal Care & Beauty ($955 billion)
Healthy Eating, Nutrition, & Weight Loss ($946 billion)
Physical Activity ($738 billion)
Wellness Tourism ($436 billion)
Traditional & Complementary Medicine ($413 billion)
Public Health, Prevention, & Personalized Medicine ($375 billion)
Wellness Real Estate ($275 billion)
Mental Wellness ($131 billion)
Spas ($68 billion)
Workplace Wellness ($49 billion)
Thermal/Mineral Springs ($39 billion)

The Shift in the Global Wellness Market – Enter Behavioral Health and Tech Investment

Private equity investment and technology are changing the world wellness landscape, and Israel was a natural choice of location for this year’s summit. More than $870 million in equity investment has been directed to innovators in Israel seeking to advance healthy, sustainable eating, mental health, pain management, and areas that engage corporate and personal wellness.

Summit Co-Chair Amir Alroy heads WellTech Ventures. It’s among the first private equity firms to focus on technologies that advance wellness and the understanding that we must move more toward self-care and life-care rather than the healthcare, sick-care approach. Alroy, who first explored the wellness movement by launching a chain of famous fitness clubs, later shifted to explore how wellness and technology could combine to accelerate behavioral change. Surrounded by a seasoned investment team, Alroy has jumped in as a market leader in the tech wellness category.

These three companies attending the Global Wellness Summit caught my attention. They should be on our radar screens – Medika Life will expand its coverage of ideas and innovators dedicated to preventing illness from progressing.

SavorEat

Food sustainability isn’t often at the forefront of our minds. We often think “healthy; sustainable food” is tasteless. Most decisions are based on taste and convenience. The foods we eat affect blood sugar and weight management. Over time, foods that aren’t good for our bodies result in metabolic changes that range from high blood glucose to elevated cholesterol. SavorEat is developing a revolutionary robot chef with customizable plant-based 3D printing technology as a solution for businesses and institutions requiring the production of fast, precise and consistent food output.

The concept of 3D printed food – designed to your taste preferences – might seem futuristic! But the future is now! Disruptive, its success can impact supply chain management, labor challenges, reduction of food waste, and food safety to address diners’ different needs. But disruptive change is never easy. However, food production remains one of the planet’s biggest challenges – regarding access to food and its ecological impact.

Sency

Posture and movement are part of physical health. How many people experience back or the aches and pains resulting from how we walk, run and exercise? How many visits to orthopedic surgeons, physical therapies, and pain clinics result from poor posture contributing to other structural woes?

According to a 2021 study by the American Chiropractic Association, more than 31 million Americans suffer from poor posture. Bad posture leads to health complications, including respiratory problems, back pain, high blood pressure, spinal dysfunction, and joint degeneration. Sency technology can capture every movement using only a phone camera to analyze motion and improve physical health – the result is a physical frame that can better support healthy aging.

X-trodes

Sleep is the body’s path to regeneration. Monitoring signals from the brain, heart and muscles during sleep provides a greater understanding of personal health and wellness and how to reorient self-care efforts. Newer research is showing that sleep patterns may even determine eye health. The challenge is that people must typically head to hospital-based sleep clinics with the necessary equipment – electrodes, gel, or suction cups – and sometimes, the analysis requires an overnight clinic stay.

X-trodes is changing how we obtain that information – at any time of the day or night! Their goal is to perfect innovative wearable technology for the measurement and analytics of electrophysiological signals through a patented technology that provides an automated and high-resolution analysis at any time. X-trodes wearable wireless technology will enable consumers, professional athletes and health professionals to monitor sleep patterns from home in a natural sleep environment. The science of sleep comes to homes!

Two Pioneers Continue to Expand the Wellness Tent

Global Wellness Summit founders Susie Ellis and Nancy Davis are must-watch leaders of a conversation that has evolved into a powerful economic movement. The United States now dedicates almost 20 percent of its GDP to healthcare, and global spending on health rose between 2000 and 2018 and reached US $8.3 trillion, or 10% of the worldwide GDP. However, most nations that invest in preventive – well-care – are spending far less than the United States yet enjoy significantly greater longevity.

Ellis and Davis have created a big tent for the wellness community. Yes, long-term experts in travel, hot spring treatments, and spas focusing on reorienting diet and mindfulness are present at the Summit. So are the scientists, epidemiologists, public health officials, and entrepreneurs. Health is holistic. There is no one path to a long, healthy life. It’s no longer a question of how long we will live. Medical innovation can sustain life. Now, with those added years, we must choose how we will enjoy the journey.

Medika Life will soon publish its Top 50 Global Wellness Leaders list – the pioneers, entrepreneurs and game changers advancing wellness.

The post Global Wellness Summit Charts $4.4 Trillion Sector Impacting Longevity appeared first on Medika Life.

Women Transforming Healthcare: The Medika Life 2022 Top 30

Medika Life — Wed, 06 Jul 2022 15:00:00 +0000

Exceptional women leaders carry significant influence within their fields of expertise and across the entire health ecosystem. Theirs are the transformational voices of patient experience, patient care, policy, health-tech information, and innovation. Medika Life introduces a new list to highlight these must-watch-and-follow global ambassadors who aspire to take the health system to a higher level of performance.

All selected for the 2022 Women Transforming Healthcare list are driven to improve people’s wellbeing and create a better, more accessible, more equitable health system. All of them originate and share bold ideas, engaging the diverse sphere of healthcare in productive conversation. This list recognizes and celebrates their achievements.

When I first appeared on a list of digital health influencers some years ago, it was a thrilling moment that quickly soured. Looking at the photos of those selected, I saw the faces of nine men and one woman. I knew that if something were to change, it would require mindful action – declining opportunities to appear on all-male “influencer” lists, serving on boards that lacked diversity, or refusing to join webinars that did not include a wide range of representation (e.g., patient experience panels without patient participation or diversity webinars without BIPOC or LGBTQ+ presence).

Inclusion is a conscious act

Despite being an industry of innovation and transformation, the life science and health tech sectors are not immune to age-old biases. Medika recognizes that when people mindfully or subconsciously apply bias toward race, religion, region, ethnicity, gender identification, or physical ability, we shackle our extraordinary potential to make a difference in the world and improve the people’s wellbeing. These biases are harmful. In healthcare, they can be deadly.

To compile this listing, Medika Life used analytical tools to review data from varied sources and assessed these individuals’ social impact and reach. We examined factors including their readiness and effectiveness in engaging others and supporting healthcare improvement through presentations, podcasts, webinars and written content. We made the conscious choice to include names not featured on previous Medika Top 50 listings.

We considered geography. We wanted to ensure that voices from around the globe were included. We looked to ensure diversity and equity. We included women who open the door to support and elevate others’ voices. We focused on women with the courage to share their stories and call out what needs to change to ensure equitable and accessible care.

The Challenge to Select Only 30 People

It was a challenge to select only 30 names for this listing. There are hundreds of committed, qualified women who are agents of change, working as communicators, patient advocates, physicians, policy experts and scientists. For this reason, we made the conscious (and challenging) decision not to include names of the amazing people featured in previous Medika lists. We are eager to continue engaging with and supporting them and highlighting many others in the coming years. Invite all to consider contributing their idea and ideals to Medika.

As always, thanks to my friend and Medika Life Founding Editor-in-Chief Dr. Robert Turner for assisting me and Amaury Basora, Medika Editorial Assistant. Special appreciation to the colleagues from varied professional circles who shared their thoughts and contributed to this effort. All share a collaborative commitment to work that recognizes the many exemplary people dedicated to improving people’s health can make a difference.

Please also refer to the 2022 and 2021 Most Influential Voices in Healthcare lists. The women who appear on those lists are incredible voices in health transformation. We made the difficult decision to highlight newcomers to this list. Some need no introduction, and others will now be on your radar screen. All these individuals have an impact and are important to watch, follow, amplify and engage.

Gil Bashe, Editor–in-Chief, Medika.Life

Women Transforming Healthcare Downloadable Banner

All influencers on the 2022 Women Transforming Healthcare list have a personalized banner that can be downloaded via the “clicking here” link below. We provide these individualized banners to acknowledge and thank them for their efforts toward improving patient experience and healthcare outcomes. Instructions on how to add the banner are shown on the page.

Download your banner by clicking here. This is one example – there are 30 banners available via the unique link.

Medika Women Transforming Healthcare – Sample Downloadable Banner – Each of the 30 Have a Personalized Banner for Downloading for Social Media Shares,

Women Transforming Healthcare

Here is our Medika Life roster of 30 people to follow – not ranked; all-important voices – to have on your radar screen for the years to come. Follow their content and voices – these are amazing advocates for patient care and health innovation:

Lori Rose Benson, PhD Candidate

Executive Director and CEO, Hip Hop Public Health

Lori Rose Benson is executive director and CEO of Hip Hop Public Health, an internationally recognized nonprofit harnessing the transformative power of music, art and science to deepen health literacy, inspire behavior change, and promote health equity. Benson, a public health professional changing the way third-party organizations communicate with their audiences, leads a transdisciplinary team of artists, creatives, educators, and healthcare experts to create culturally tailored, evidence-based health promotion and disease prevention resources and interventions.

Previously, Benson was the inaugural executive director of the New York City Department of Education Office of School Wellness Programs and vice president of healthy lifestyles for the YMCA of Greater New York, spearheading health innovation and chronic disease prevention programs. Benson is a doctor of public health candidate at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and an adjunct professor at Adelphi University.

Smita Bisen, MD

Founder, UniShakti

Parents who have heard of the bestseller “What to Expect When your Expecting” as a go-to text have a powerful friend in India. Dr. Smita Bisen is an engaging educator, coach, health and wellness speaker, and presenter based in Mumbai, India. She addresses expectant parents, new mothers, support staff, and birth professionals with captivating and inspiring approaches to creating thriving families and relationships.

Dr. Bisen has presented various research papers at national and international conferences. To extend her passion for teaching, she trains not-for-profit “Asha” clinics – run by government associations – staffed with doctors, nurses and volunteers on parenting skills to ensure that people in India’s most challenged neighborhoods have access to medical care for their newborns and toddlers.

Julie Charlestein, MBA

President and CEO, Premier Dental

When Julie Charlestein took over as CEO of Plymouth Meeting, PA-based Premier Dental Products, in 2015, she became the first woman to lead the more than century-old dental innovation and manufacturing company. Charlestein is the company’s fourth-generation family leader, founded in 1913 by her great-grandfather Julius. Setting the stage for the next phase of Premier’s success, Charlestein led the company to launch 19 new products, guided the storied company through the COVID-19 storm that practically shut down in-office dental care visits, and championed efforts to engage the consumer-care market.

She has a bold leadership voice, hosts podcasts, shares edgy leadership ideas with colleagues in her blog posts, and is a keynote speaker and author. Beyond her executive position as Premier Dental CEO, Charlestein’s passion for dentistry, health innovation and patient care elevated her to the “unofficial” position as the sector’s chief innovation and inspiration officer. Charlestein serves on several not-for-profit boards where she shares her passion for the importance of dental care in public health.

Nicole Cottrill

Senior Partner, Health Provider Services Group Lead, FINN Partners

If the health provider sector needed an outstanding communication champion, they found one in Nicole Cottrill. Someone who never forgets that health centers are for the people. Cottrill is a thoughtful, seasoned reputation-management professional who clearly defines the great potential of hospitals, clinics, and long-term care facilities to express and deliver their great potential to help people heal. Cottrill began her career at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, moved her life to the center of health innovation in Boston, and then onto Nashville, the United States capital in health provider services.

She has guided US health provider leaders in addressing the needs of vulnerable patient communities, helped health systems weather economic challenges and crises, and enabled health executives to express thought leadership on access to care, health equity, innovation and policy. Beyond her expertise in health provider systems, Cottrill has a keen sense that provider efforts must align with payer economics. Her ability to help the sector navigate the complex health ecosystem leads to “healthy” institutions. Honoring her industry contributions the Nashville Medical News named Cottrill one of the city’s and sector’s “Women to Watch.”

Ophelia Dahl

Co-founder, Partners in Health

Ophelia Dahl co-founded Partners In Health (PIH), which began in Haiti’s rural Central Plateau more than 30 years ago, and now serves millions of patients in 11 countries on four continents worldwide. The PIH community-based model has helped redefine what is possible in health care delivery in settings of poverty, proving that HIV, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, and other diseases that stalk the poor can be treated effectively in communities from Peru to Rwanda to West Africa. Dahl led PIH as executive director for 16 years and now chairs its Board of Directors. She continues to write, teach, and speak about the health and rights of the poor, moral imagination, and accompaniment.

Khrystal K. Davis, JD

Founder of Texas Rare Alliance

A courageous, inspiring role model, Ms. Davis’s memoir chronicles her efforts to overcome the odds of saving her terminally ill newborn son Hunter facing the challenges of spinal muscular atrophy Type 1, a leading genetic cause of infant death. Her dedication and transparency reinforce the power of patient and caregiver advocacy. Davis’ son Hunter is now nine years old. This harrowing personal experience led her to write Hunt for a Cure: An Unexpected Adventure to Save a Life and launch the Texas Rare Alliance, a not-for-profit improving access and health outcomes for some three million Texas rare disease patients through education and advocacy.

Susie Ellis, MBA

Chair & CEO, Global Wellness Summit and Global Wellness Institute

Susan Fanning, MBA

Chief Health & Wellbeing Officer at Prudential Life Assurance Public Company Ltd. (Thailand)

Originally from Ireland, Susan Fanning has 20 years of experience commercial strategic leadership in Healthcare and Financial Services in Europe, Asia and Africa. She joined Prudential Thailand as Chief Health & Wellbeing Officer in August 2020 to drive its Pulse health proposition and build out the Enterprise-wide Health and Protection capabilities. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries and has an MBA from INSEAD.

Patricia Farrell, PhD

Psychologist, Freelance Consultant and Writer

A licensed clinical psychologist and prolific author in the field of mental health. Dr. Farrell writes from her experience and heart as a practicing clinician, researcher, educator and disability consultant. She was the National Clinical Monitor for academic medical center Mt. Sinai Medical Center in NYC, where she was involved in the first national protocol for treating Alzheimer’s Disease. An advocate for research-driven clinical care, in that role, she traveled to more than 17 major national sites where research on Alzheimer’s disease was underway and worked with many of the United States’ leading physicians and psychologists in the field.

She has served as a WebMD Psychologist Expert consultant on anxiety and panic disorders. She has appeared on national and local TV and radio programs and in leading magazines and newspapers. Dr. Farrell is among the founding editors of Medium’s BeingWell and a regular columnist for Medika.Life.

Jennifer Goldsack MBA, MChem

CEO, Digital Medicine Society (DiMe)

Jen Goldsack is the Executive Director of the Digital Medicine Society (DiMe), a community of growing influence in digital health and medicine. Previously, Goldsack spent several years at the Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative (CTTI), where she led the development and implementation of projects within the CTTI Mobile Program and was the operational co-lead on the first randomized clinical trial using the FDA Sentinel System. Goldsack spent five years in research at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, first in Outcomes Research in the Department of Surgery and later in the Department of Medicine.

At the forefront of practical innovation, she helped launch the Value Institute, an innovation center within a large academic medical center in Delaware. She earned her master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Oxford, England, her master’s in the history and sociology of medicine from the University of Pennsylvania, and her MBA from George Washington University.

Soojin (Soo) Jun, PharmD

Cofounder, Patients for Patient Safety US, Patient Safety Activist, Advocate, Pharmacist

Dr. Soojin (or “Soo”) Jun is a board-certified geriatric pharmacist in Illinois and Wisconsin. She is also a certified professional in patient safety and certified professional in healthcare quality, committed to patient safety and quality improvement. After losing her father to healthcare gaps, possibly from adverse medication events, she changed careers from a wedding videographer to a pharmacist.

Today, she specializes in medication therapy management and believes empathy in healthcare can make healing possible in any healthcare relationship. Dr. Jun is an ambassador for the Patient Safety Movement Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to patient safety worldwide. She is cofounder of Patients For Patient Safety US (PFPS US),which is an organization of patient safety activists and champions committed to implementing the WHO Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030 in the USA. She speaks about patient safety, patient rights, minority health, and patient advocacy for voiceless patients.

Wendy Lund, MS

Chief Communications Officer, Organon; Podcast Host, Here for Her Health

Women’s health priorities and issues have a champion and voice in Wendy Lund. As Chief Communications Officer at Organon, perhaps the world’s largest women’s healthcare company, Lund is responsible for global communications and advocacy supporting the company’s efforts to advance women’s health priorities and public health. She is a recognized pioneer in women’s health communication. Among her first positions, Lund served as vice president of marketing at Planned Parenthood, and vice president of marketing at the National League of Nursing.

As CEO of GCI Health, a leading healthcare communications agency, she worked tirelessly to elevate women’s health needs. These leadership experiences guided her professional direction and impact. Lund is also the host of “Here for Her Health,” a popular podcast series sponsored by Organon. The show embraces new ways of discussing women’s health, addressing health inequities, definitions of health, life transitions, and breaking down the stigma associated with women’s health topics. Lund earned a master’s in Women’s History from New York University.

Sheri McCoy, MBA, MS

Board Member and Life Science Advisor; Industry-Wide Mentor

Sheri McCoy is known for many achievements, including scientist, a life science executive, the holder of multiple patents, and a recognized champion for health innovation and colleagues’ careers. Fortune Magazine and Forbes Magazine include her continuously as one of the 50 most powerful women in business. McCoy is celebrated for her 30-year career at Johnson & Johnson (J&J), where she joined as a scientist in research and development and subsequently managed businesses in every major product sector, including consumers, prescription medicines, and medical devices.

At J&J, she held roles including Worldwide Chairman, Pharmaceuticals Group and Worldwide Chairman, Surgical Care Group. She later served as CEO of storied personal care company Avon. She is a sought-out advisor, and her impact in the life science sector continues as a board member and mentor for companies such as AstraZeneca PLC; Stryker Corporation; Kimberly-Clark; Novocure; Certara, and Aldevron. McCoy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in textile chemistry from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, a Master’s degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University, and an MBA from Rutgers University.

Amanda McClelland, MBA, MPH

Senior Vice President, Resolve To Save Lives

Amanda McClelland, RN, MPH, is the Senior Vice President of Prevent Epidemics and Resolve to Save Lives, where she leads a team to accelerate progress to make the world safer from epidemics. While much of her work has been global, McClelland is also focused on pressing health issues in the United States, where she draws on her experiences in the developing world and applies best practices to sustain and save lives.

McClelland previously served as Global Emergency Health Advisor for the International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent (IFRC), where she dedicated her talents to emergency health, epidemic control, mass casualty in low resource settings, disease prevention and response operations. Her many historic public health achievements include coordinating frontline Ebola response during the 2014 Ebola epidemic, for which she received the 2015  Florence Nightingale Medal for exceptional courage.

Michelle McCurry-Heath, MD, PhD

President and CEO, Biotech Innovation Organization (BIO)

Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath assumed the leadership of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) as President and CEO in 2020. By training, she is a medical doctor and molecular immunologist; she is the third chief executive to steward the world’s largest biotechnology advocacy group since its founding. She joined BIO from Johnson & Johnson, where she served as Global Head of Evidence Generation for Medical Device Companies and then Vice President of Global External Innovation and Global Leader for Regulatory Sciences. Dr, McMurry-Heath was part of the Obama-Biden transition team tasked with conducting an of the National Science Foundation’s policies, programs and personnel.

President Obama then named her associate science director of the FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health under Commissioner Peggy Hamburg. In that role, she championed clinical trial evolution, the use of real-world evidence in product evaluation, and an embrace of the patient’s voice in health research so that new medical products deliver outcomes that matter to them. She received her MD and PhD from the Duke Medical Scientist Training Program, becoming the first African-American to graduate from the prestigious program. She spent 12 years working on the research bench before taking policy and leadership roles in government and industry.

Jane Metcalfe

Founder and CEO, Neo.Life

Jane Metcalfe is an entrepreneur, corporate board member, advisor, executive and investor in media, tech, food, health, education, arts and real estate. When technological innovation was at its drawing-board stages at now giants such as Apple and Microsoft, Metcalfe, as a leading journalist, had a seat at the table. Her current passion is the impact of technology on our health and how technology is pushing the frontiers of biology forward, showing us more and more about how our bodies, brains and minds function, why we get sick, how we age, and how to intervene in all those processes.

Metcalfe launched NEO.LIFE, an online magazine to capture stories of the people, projects, companies and ideas driving this Neobiological Revolution. As the co-founder and former President of Wired Magazine, She cocreated Wired Ventures Inc., a diversified media company whose businesses included Wired Magazine (U.S., U.K., and Japanese editions), Wired Digital, and the search engine HotBot, and Wired Books. Metcalfe is part of the leadership council of the breakthrough life science community CNS Summit.

Jennifer H. Mieres, MD

Cardiologist, Northwell Health Center for Equity of Care; Author, and Emmy Nominated Executive Producer

Jennifer H. Mieres, MD, is one of the nation’s leading experts and patient advocates in cardiovascular disease in women. A cardiologist for some 30 years, as well as a bestselling author, noted educator, clinical researcher, filmmaker and community and patient advocate, she is also a national organizer for the American Heart Association Go Red for Women, which works to increase awareness of women and heart disease. In her role as leader of Northwell Health Center for Equity of Care, Dr. Mieres has oversight of the Katz Institute for Women’s Health, as well as Northwell health, wellness, community health education and healthcare access programs.

She is also the health system’s chief diversity and inclusion officer and a member of its leadership team. The American Heart Association most recently named Dr. Mieres its “Physician of the Year.,” the organization’s highest honor awarded to a physician who has made outstanding accomplishments in the field of cardiovascular disease in multiple arenas and for making significant strides for supporting equitable health and well-being for all. Growing up in Trinidad, Dr. Mieres was fascinated with science at a young age, spending time with her aunt, who was a biologist. She is a tireless advocate for access to care for all.

Aska Patel, PharmD

Founder of Acuvise Consultancy Inc., Podcast Host

Dr. Patel is a community pharmacist providing clinical services in a home care setting. She brings diverse insights and pharmacy experiences, including work experiences in community, hospital, home care, and government settings, with her commitment to making pharmacists an essential part of the integrated care system. Dr. Patel’s advocacy efforts focus on expanding the scope of practice, reimbursement and provider status and an inclusive workplace.

She is a member of the OPA Pharmacists Practice Committee and the Diversity Taskforce. She participates on committees at organizations such as the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) and Ontario Health. Dr. Patel graduated from the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy and completed her Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 2016. Her efforts around collaboration in medicine have contributed to improve care and lives sustained.

Myrtle Potter

Chief Executive Officer, Sumitovant Biopharma, Inc.

Life science industry trailblazer Myrtle Potter is now CEO of Sumitovant after serving as Vant Operating Chair of Roivant Sciences. During her tenure at Vant, she oversaw 35 investigational drug programs in 11 therapeutic areas and more than 50 clinical trials in the Roivant family of companies. She brings a proven track record of building and leading high-performance teams to bring successful drugs to market. Potter brings a unique perspective to the drug development effort through her years championing many breakthrough medications from regulatory review to market.

As President and Chief Operating Officer of biotech powerhouse Genentech, Potter oversaw its five-time revenue growth in five years to $5 billion and earnings growth for 19 of 20 consecutive quarters. Before Genentech, she served as president of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s $4 billion, 3,500-person US Cardiovascular/Metabolics unit. During her tenure at Merck, she helped start Astra-Merck, which evolved into Astra-Zeneca through a series of transactions. Potter is a graduate of the University of Chicago and serves on its board of trustees. She also serves on the board of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group and the boards of Amazon, Axsome Therapeutics, Express Scripts and Medco.

Gina M. Raimondo, JD, PhD

United States Secretary of Commerce

Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo is the nation’s 40^th U.S. Secretary of Commerce and was sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris on March 3, 2021. As Secretary of Commerce, she is focused on a vital mission — to spur good-paying jobs, empower entrepreneurs to innovate and grow, and help American workers and businesses compete. There is little argument – poverty is a stepping stone to despair, disease and death. Secretary Raimondo is one of the nation’s leading thinkers on how the healthcare systems impact technology, finance and economic development.

The daughter of immigrants from Italy, her journey is the story found in movies. From riding a public bus to LaSalle Academy in Providence, Rhode Island, where she was class valedictorian, she later graduated with honors from Harvard. There, she was recognized as a top economics student. She won a Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University, earned a doctorate and later graduated from Yale Law School. From private equity with a focus on healthcare investment, she became Governor of Rhode Island. She combined her economic savvy with addressing her constituents’ priorities, creating a working statewide health information system that united hospitals around patient care and a bold Healthcare Innovation Initiative.

She saw Providence as a home for global digital health innovation making significant inroads. As Governor, Raimondo kick-started the state’s economy and made record investments in infrastructure, education, and job training. She focused on economic opportunities and jobs for all Rhode Islanders. Early in her administration, she launched an innovative workforce development program developing business-led partnerships to address unique workforce challenges. Secretary Raimondo doesn’t focus on problems; she looks to rally people to solutions.

Megan Ranney, MD, MPH

Emergency physician and Academic Dean, Public Health, Brown University

Dr. Megan Ranney is the Academic Dean for the School of Public Health and founding Director of the Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health. Dr. Ranney is a dedicated emergency physician, researcher, and advocate for innovative approaches to public health who served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cote d’Ivoire prior to attending medical school at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons in New York. Her work focuses on the connections among digital health, violence prevention, and population health.

She is co-founder and Senior Strategic Advisor to the American Foundation for Firearm Injury Reduction in Medicine (AFFIRM) at the Aspen Institute, creating practical, scalable, and immediate health-based solutions to reduce firearm-related injuries in the United States. Dr. Ranney served as co-founder and president of the board for GetUsPPE.org, a startup dedicated to matching donated personal protective equipment. She is a Fellow of the 5th class of the Aspen Health Innovators Fellowship Program and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Liz O’Riordan, MD

Consultant Breast Surgeon, Patient Advocate, Author and Podcast Host

Dr. Liz O’Riordan is a retired consultant breast surgeon and a powerful voice for patient advocacy today. She has a Ph.D. in molecular oncology and a PG Cert in oncoplastic surgery. At 40, she was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer and treated with chemotherapy, a mastectomy, and radiotherapy. She started an award-winning blog about her experiences that led to her lecturing internationally as a keynote speaker, sharing her experiences of being a patient in her surgical specialty.

She was nominated for a ‘woman of the year award in 2016 and gave a TEDx talk in Stuttgart. In May 2018, she had a local recurrence on her chest wall, which was treated with further surgery and radiotherapy. The side effects of this treatment required her to retire as a surgeon. She has co-authored ‘The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control’ with Professor Trisha Greenhalgh, an effort that has led to multiple media conversations. Dr. O’Riordan has written several articles for national press and magazines and has been named one of Medscape’s Top 20 doctors.

Joy Rios, MBA

Health IT Leader, Co-founder and CEO of Chirpy Bird Health IT Consulting

Joy Rios is Co-Host of the popular HIT Like a Girl and Broken Healthcare podcasts and Co-Founder of Chirpy Bird Health IT Consulting. During the past 10 years, Rios has been a passionate ambassador for value-based care and mentor to many women in the field of health information. She has written five books on navigating value-based health programs, encouraged women in the field of health IT to share their ideas and express commitment to improving patient care by tapping into the power of information to connect the dots of a fragmented health ecosystem. Rios builds community!

You can find Rios in the hallways of HIMSS and HITMC, always ready to encourage colleagues to press forward and contribute their talents to help patients. Her call-to-action is clear: “modernize healthcare through EHR and Health IT solutions, in the effort to build value, mitigate risk, improve operating efficiency while also improving outcomes and contributing to a national culture of wellness.”

Behnaz Sarrami, MS, PharmD

Missouri Pharmacogenomics Consulting LLC, Mentor & Coach, Medical Science Liaison, Pharmacy Podcast Network Host, Author

Dr. Sarrami hosts the PGx for Pharmacist Podcast on the Pharmacy Podcast Network. She is an expert in PGx, Chronic Care Management, and a mentor to pharmacists establishing consulting businesses. She believes personalizing a patient’s medication is based on each individual’s genetic makeup and is helping overcome barriers for both pharmacists and providers who want to implement PGx in any clinical setting. Dr. Sarrami is also committed to public health, especially to underserved populations.

She is a consultant for a grant-funded research project to increase medication adherence in older adults and volunteers as a clinical pharmacist at Volunteers In Medicine. She received her Master’s degree in Biochemistry from Georgetown University, her Doctorate in Pharmacy from Creighton University, and is a contributor to the Washington University’s Public Health blog and content development on GoodRx around the topic of PGx.

Monika Sonu, MD

CEO & Director New Product Development, Health Innovation Toolbox

Dr. Sonu is a physician and digital health entrepreneur with more than 15 years of experience working with public and private healthcare systems. She has been at the forefront of advancing the possibilities of improved patient health through digitizing the operating models, functions and workflows within hospitals, creating digital patient experiences and solutions addressing pressing healthcare needs. A physician who feels that the system of care must tap the power of innovation, she has created IoT and artificial intelligence-based digital health products and platforms within health systems. Dr. Sonu was named a champion for patient care and innovation as HIMSS Future 50 Innovation Leader in 2021.

Nina Shah, MD

Hematologist, Oncologist, Professor, UCSF

Dr. Nina Shah is a hematologist specializing in treating multiple myeloma, a cancer affecting the blood marrow. She treats patients at the Hematology and Blood Marrow and Transplant Clinic at UCSF. Dr. Shah received a bachelor’s degree in cognitive neuroscience from Harvard University, and her medical degree from New York University School of Medicine. She then completed a residency in internal medicine at Columbia University and a fellowship in hematology/oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Her areas of professional interest include the intersection of immunology and oncology and helping patients fight multiple myeloma by boosting their immune systems. A clinical professor at UCSF, Dr. Shah, belongs to the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Society of Hematology and the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. She speaks Bengali and Spanish and is a noted patient advocate.

Christy Snodgrass, RN

Founder, Healthcare Reformed

Christy Snodgrass is a registered nurse turned activist and advocate. Horrified by how hospitals and insurers vie for profits at the expense of the patient, she founded Healthcare Reformed. With more than 800K followers on TikTok, she uses the platform to raise awareness, assisting patients and providers alike. Her goal? To bring transparency to a complicated and often exploitative healthcare system. She strives to give healthcare workers and patients the resources they need to protect their physical, emotional, and financial wellbeing.

Snodgrass provides a much-needed voice for the nursing industry, highlighting abusive grooming practices and inequalities that exist within the industry while at the same time campaigning on behalf of patients’ rights by educating them about common practices within healthcare. This is a shining example of how activism and advocacy can have a real and immediate impact on patients and caregivers.

Kristin Speer, PharmD, BCPS

Founder of Luca Consult, Ltd.; Clinical Pharmacist; Pain & Mental Health Drug Therapy Consultant; Co-Founder of the Psychedelic Pharmacist Association

Dr. Kristin Speer exhibits a deep and driving passion for assisting patients that struggle with mental health and pain. She is a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist and in this role, she provides bridging care between patient and physician. Her pharmacological expertise allows her to tailor individual treatments to improve care and wellness in a field affecting millions of Americans.

Dr. Speer is a co-founder of the Psychedelic Pharmacists Association and has earned a BA in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Colorado Boulder and her PharmD from the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy. If you are a physician looking for a knowledgeable pharmacist to improve patient care or if you are a patient that struggles with mental health or the side effects of pain medication, look no further than Dr. Speer. She is the founder of Luca Consult, a company designed to assist patients experiencing difficulty with pain medications.

Alicia C. Staley, MBA

Vice President, Patient Engagement, Medidata Solutions

Alicia Staley has more than 20 years of experience in software design and information systems management. She seeks to voice the patient perspective throughout the drug development lifecycle and engage patients in the process. Staley is also a three-time cancer survivor, first diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease as a sophomore during college. As a health professional, she draws on her engineering background to improve the patient experience for people confronting cancer. With an extensive network of patient advocates and non-profit organizations, she collaborates with many stakeholders to improve processes and policies that affect patient care and clinical trials.

Before joining Medidata, Staley worked at Cure Forward and Science 37, leading their patient recruitment and engagement initiatives to help advance clinical research. As a champion of patient advocacy, as someone who has been a patient within the system, she understands the critical issues facing people looking to engage clinical research as a treatment possibility. With a keen focus on improving access to clinical trials, Staley is a powerful advocate for patients searching for information about clinical trials.

Nicoletta “Nicki” Tessler, PsyD, MBA

Clinical CEO, Co-founder, BeMe Health

Dr. Nicoletta Tessler is a clinical psychologist and senior executive with more than 20 years of effort in leading cutting-edge behavioral healthcare communities by drawing on her understanding of business strategy, operations and patient wellbeing. She began her journey at Jackson Behavioral Health Hospital, leading to the famed Hospital Corporation of America and later Universal Health Services (UHS).

At UHS, Dr. Tessler led the charge on innovation within the Behavioral Health Division by developing the “Innovation Hub” for promoting entrepreneurship. Dr. Tessler is a proven difference-maker with an unwavering sense of purpose and passion for reinventing the behavioral health sector. As a mother of teenage daughters, she saw her next career adventure as creating BeMe as the most trusted resource in emotional health for teens.

Thirty Inspiring Role Models

We hope you find these 30 Women Health Transformers inspiring role models. Seeing health disparities and the injustices of society, these health leaders are challenging the status quo of the fragmented health ecosystem to achieve its desired potential.

Let’s do our part to ensure these incredible people are heard and supported. Follow and engage with these outstanding women seeking positive change. Also, follow people that they follow – those people are future candidates for the Medika Top 30 and 50 lists. Again, with a list of 30 people, it’s impossible to include everyone we considered – there were many and we look forward to featuring their efforts. That is among the reasons we urge everyone to visit past lists and engage.

This fall, Medika Life plans to release its 50 Voices in Digital Health Health List for 2022, featuring fearless life science innovators seeking to advance access to care, champion new therapies and accelerate diagnosis and alternative treatment approaches. Stay tuned! Follow Medika on Twitter and LinkedIn and follow our editorial staff for updates.

Spot a broken link, typo, forgotten degree or name misspelled?

Oops! Apologies! While care has been taken in compiling this list and adding social media links, things go wrong or a name is misspelled or a link broken. Please do get in touch to address typos, amendments, or omissions by reaching gil.bashe@medika.life.

Thanks in advance and be healthy!

The post Women Transforming Healthcare: The Medika Life 2022 Top 30 appeared first on Medika Life.

Susie Ellis - Medika Life

The Medika Life Top 30 Voices Transforming Wellness for 2022/23

Ambassadors of a Wellness Movement

The Challenge to Select Only 30 Influencers

Analytics and Research

Appreciation

Top 30 Wellness Influencers Downloadable Banner

Top 30 Wellness Influencers

Esther Ejiroghene Ajari, MBBS

Founder & Executive Director, TriHealthon Development Network in Nigeria

Belgin Aksoy

Creative Director, Richmond International; Founder Global Wellness Day

Federica Alberti

Director, Wellness Foundation, Italy

Amir Alroy

Co-Founder, Welltech Ventures, Israel

Mary Bemis

Founder and Editorial Director, Insider’s Guide to Spas

Robin Berzin, MD

Founder of Parsley Health

Dan Buettner

Founder of Blue Zones

Richard Carmona, MD

Chief Innovations Officer, Canyon Ranch and Former US Surgeon General

Lori Cashman, MBA

General Partner, Victress Capital

Nancy Davis

Chief Creative Officer and Executive Director, Global Wellness Summit

Ken Dychtwald, PhD

Founder and CEO, Age Wave

Susie Ellis, MBA

Chair & CEO, Global Wellness Summit and Global Wellness Institute

Susan Fanning, MBA

Chief Health & Wellbeing Officer at Prudential Life Assurance PublicCompany Ltd. (Thailand)

Catherine Feliciano-Chon

Founder and Managing Director, CatchOn- A FINN Partners Company

Michael Hunter, MD

Radiology Oncologist and Author, Evergreen Medical Center

Barbara Kolm, PhD

Director, Austrian Economics Center (BIO)

John Macomber

Senior Lecturer and Author, Harvard Business School

Ann Mond Johnson, MBA

CEO, American Telemedicine Association

Freddie Moross

Managing Director, myndstream

Dean Ornish, MD

Founder and President, Preventive Medicine Research Institute

Lygeia Ricciardi

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, AdaRose

Rebecca Robbins, PhD

Sleep Scientist and Instructor, Harvard Medical School and Associate Scientist, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Michael Roizen, MD

Physician and Founding Chair, Wellness Institute, Cleveland Clinic

Katherine Saunders, MD

Executive Vice President, Intellihealth and Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine

Louis Schwartzberg

Filmmaker and Documentarian

Suzanne Steinbaum, MD

President and CEO, HeartTech.Health

Rick Stollmeyer

Founder, Mindbody, CEO Inspired Flight Technologies, Podcaster

John Whyte, MD, MPH

Chief Medical Officer, Medscape and WebMD

Olajide A. Williams, MD, MS

Professor of Neurology and Founder of Hip Hop Public Health

Mary Yarbrough, MD, MPH

Executive Director VUMC, Health and Wellness Program

Thirty Inspiring Wellness-Sector Role Models

Spot a broken link, typo, forgotten degree or name misspelled?

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Sency

X-trodes

Two Pioneers Continue to Expand the Wellness Tent

Women Transforming Healthcare: The Medika Life 2022 Top 30

Inclusion is a conscious act

The Challenge to Select Only 30 People

Chief Health & Wellbeing Officer at Prudential Life Assurance Public
Company Ltd. (Thailand)